The Latino Migration Experience in North Carolina, Revised and Expanded Second Edition: New Roots in the Old North State

by Hannah Gill

Now thoroughly updated and revised--with a new chapter on the Dreamer movement and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA)--this book offers North Carolinians a better understanding of their Latinx neighbors, illuminating rather than enflaming debates on immigration. In the midst of a tumultuous political environment, North Carolina continues to feature significant in-migration of Mexicans and Latin Americans from both outside and inside the United States. Drawing on the voices of migrants as well as North Carolinians from communities affected by migration, Hannah Gill explains how larger social forces are causing demographic shifts, how the state is facing the challenges and opportunities presented by these changes, and how migrants experience the economic and social realities of their lives.

Gill makes connections between our hometowns and the globalization of people, money, technology, and culture by shedding light on the many diverse North Carolina residents who are such a vital part of the state's population but are often unrecognized in many ways. This book is essential for everyone, including students and teachers, who wants to understand what is at stake for all parties and wants to work toward solutions.

Genres: History, Southern

228 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Mits · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone living in North Carolina wanting to learn more about the history of Latinx people in the state and their current stories. This book is very readable and unique because of the first person stories that are the bulk of the book. Gill supplements these stories with many facts and figures that help place them in a broader context of Latinx communities in and migration to/from NC. I definitely recommend the newest edition of the book, as it includes context on DACA and the Trump presidency's effect on Latinx people.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We do not take a decision to cross the border lightly. We die crossing, and we suffer when we are incarcerated. Why would we risk our lives if all we had to do was get in line for a visa?"

Interviews with North Carolinians across the state shows what anyone with any sense already knows: immigrants are North Carolinians regardless of legal status.